Aperture board hanger bracket

ABSTRACT

A aperture board hanger for bracket including a continuous bent wire attachment having a loop portion which includes a plurality of first open loops, all of which open in the direction facing the pegboard. The loop portion also includes a plurality of second open loops which alternate with the first loops and open in the direction facing away from the aperture board. The loop portion terminates laterally in a pair of spaced spring arms which bend upwardly from the plane of the first and second loops and insert into respective spaced holes in the aperture board to detachably mount the hanger bracket on the aperture board. When the bracket is mounted on the aperture board, the terminal portions of the spring arms lock into other holes in the aperture board in a manner to secure the loop portion upon the front for implement hanging or removing purposes.

United States Patent 1 Feeny 22 Filed:

[54] APERTURE BOARD HANGER BRACKET [75] Inventor: Clement I. Feeny flhiladlphia,

Pa. 19118 A Nov. 16,1970 2i] Appl. No.: 89,870

[52] U.S. Cl .4248/223, 248/D1G. 3 [51] Int. Cl ..F16m 13/00 [58] Fieldof Search ..2l1/60 T, 120; 248/DIG. 3,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,170,612 2/1965Blumenschein .21 1/60 T 650,912 6/1900 Runtz ..21l/l20 3,037,733 6/1962Roman ..248/DlG. 3 598,507 2/1898 Graham ..2l l/l20 FOREIGN PATENTS OR'APPLlCATlONS 792,253 3/1965 Great Britain ..248/D!G= 3 774,382 5/1957Great Britain ..248/DIG. 3

[451 Jan. 9, 1973 691,052 4/1940 German -"L ..'z4sroro;s

Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney-Louis Necho 57 ABSTRACT Aaperture board hanger for bracket including a continuous bent wireattachment having a loop portion which includes a plurality of firstopen loops, all of which open in the direction facing the pegboard. Theloop portion also includes a plurality of second open loops whichalternate with the first loops and open in the direction facing awayfrom the aperture board. The loop portion terminates laterally in a pairof spaced spring arms which bend upwardly from the plane of the firstand second loops and insert into respective spaced holes in the apertureboard to detachably mount the hanger bracket on theaperture board. Whenthe bracket is mounted on the aperture board, the terminal portions ofthe spring arms lock into other holes in the aperture board in a mannerto secure the loop portion upon the front for implement hanging orremoving purposes.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 9 I975 FIG.2

3 mm F INVENTOR. CLEMENTJ. FEENY 3514 ZLJLP ATTORNEY.

APERTURE BOARD HANGER BRACKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION aperture boardhanger bracket incorporating spring arm anchoring means.

Definition: the term pegboard as employed in this application is used todesignate a thin strong board having spaced horizontal and vertical rowsof holes suitable to receive hangers therein. The pegboard of thepresent invention may generically be termed "an aperture boar Apertureboards incorporating pluralities of horizontal and vertical rows ofholes for use with metallic hangers of various configurations are knownand have long been used for hanging articles of various configurations,such as tools, household implements, and the like. But as far as I amaware, the number of items which can be mounted on a conventionalaperture board is limited as to type and physical characteristics, bythe design of the metallic hanger employed for the purpose. For example,a hanger which is adaptable to receive a screwdriver, cannotconveniently support a hammer or other hand tool without substantialalteration. For further background information, reference may be had toUS. Pat. No. 2,400,807, US. Pat. No. 2,461,936 and U.S. Pat. No.2,963,164.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to acontinuous length of wire which is bentto form a plurality of tureboard, anda plurality of second open loop which alternate with the firstloops and have openings facing away from the board. The wire terminateslaterally in upwardly bent spring arms which insert into holes in theaperture board to securely mount the hanger to the board. I

The plurality of first and second open loops form a universallyadaptable bracket designed to support a much broader range of types oftools and other articles than prior art hangers. Each bracket of thepresent configuration can conveniently hold multiple items of widelydissimilar types. As a result of this universality, the user does nothave to know in advance of his purchase exactly what items he intends tomount.

The present design includes spring arms which mount through the usualholes in aaperture board and secure against the rear in a manner tobecome more firmly anchored in position, as articles are hung upon theloop portion. The weight of the suspended items increases the pressureon the spring 'arms so that the more weight suspended, the more rigidlythe bracket is locked on the aperture board. The spring armsincludespring locking means which assure that the bracket will stay securelymounted upon the aperture board even when empty. This constructionadditionally overcomes any tendency for the bracket to loosen as itemsare attached or removed. I

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved aperture board hanger bracket of the type set forth.

It is anotherobject of the present invention to provide a aperture boardhanger bracket which is formed from a single length of wire to form aloop portion, the

terminal portions of which are bent to form spring arms forbracket-securing purposes. E

It is another object of the present invention to provide a apertureboard hanger bracket incorporating novel securing means, said securingmeans being designed to more rigidlysupport the bracket as more weightis supported.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a aperture boardhanger bracket having a length of wire bent to a configuration adaptableto hang multiple items of widely dissimilar types.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a apertureboard hanger bracket formed of a single length of wire which is. bent toprovide a plurality of generally horizontally disposed open loops, eachalternating loop having the open portion thereof facing the apertureboard and the intermediate loops having their open portions facing awayfrom the aperture board.

It is another object of this invention to provide a aperture boardhanger bracket which is extremely versatile in application, which iseasy to use, and which is durable and inexpensive in manufacture.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had byreferring to the following description and claims of a preferredembodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views, and in which:

I FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention as applied to a sectionof pegboard.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INvENTIo Althoughspecific terms are used in the following description for the sake ofclarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particularstructure of my invention selected for illustration in the drawings, andare not intended to define'or limit the scope of the invention.

Referringnow to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown a fragment of aconventional aperture board 10 having a hanger bracket 12 affixedthereto. The aperture board 10 is conventional in that it has aplurality of through-holes 14, which are arranged in linear horizontaland vertical rows, or otherwise. conventionally, the holes 14 areadapted to receive bent wire hooks or other hanging devices from whichvarious items can be suspended. Since the aperture board, per se, isconventional, it is thought sufficient to pointout that the number,size, and distribution of the holes 14, can be varied at will for usewith the hanger bracket 12 of the present invention.

The hanger bracket 12 preferably, is fabricated of wire or of any othermaterial which can be conveniently bent to a given shape and which hassufficient strength and other qualities to retain the fixed shape.

A. It will be observed from FIGS. 1 and 2 that all of the loops A'and Bare open at one portion thereof, that the openings 16 lead into theloops A, and that the openings 17 lead into the loops B. As bestobserved in FIG. 3, the loops A and B all form in the same plane 32which may be considered as substantially horizontal. Actually, the plane32 preferably forms at something slightly less than 90 from thevertical, for optimum tool-hanging purposes. It is contemplated that asheavy tools or other articles are applied to the hanger bracket 12, theweight of the tools will pull downwardly upon the loops A and B, causingthe loop portion 30 to bend about the spring arms 18, 20, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, to approach a true horizontal plane.

The loop portion 30 of the hanger bracket 12 terminates laterally in apair of spaced spring arms 18, 20, which vertically bend at the rear ofthe aperture board for hanger-securing purposes. Each spring arm 18, 20,respectively, upwardly terminates in a horizontally bent finger 22, 24,which space from the plane 32 of the loop portion a distance equal tothe vertical distance between the horizontal rows of pegboard holes 14.Each projecting finger 22, 24, positions within a hole 14 forbracket-securing purposes and forwardly extends a distance substantiallyequal to the width of the pegboard. The length of each spring arm 18,20, is precisely fabricated so that each respective finger 22, 24,engages the bottom of its associated hole 14, and the base of eachspring arm 18, 20, engages to top of its associated hole 14 to securethe hanger bracket 12 to the pegboard 10 under spring tension. Thisconstruction restrains the brackets 12 in position with no tendency toloosen or pull out, as items such as tools 26 are attached to, orremoved from, the loops A or B. The engagement of the fingers 22, 24,uponthe periphery of the associated holes 14 serves as aspring lock tomaintain the hanger-bracket 12 in position during all periods of use.See FIG. 3.

As best observed in FIGS. .1 and 3, the placing of a tool 26 or otherinstruments within the loops A or B places weight upon thehanger-bracket 12. The weight acts forwardly of the front of thepegboard 10 and causes the loop portion 30 to tend to pivot downwardlyabout the bottom of the spring arms 18, 20. The spring arms 18, 20,counteract this pivotal tendency by pressing against the rear 28, ofthe-pegboard 10. Of course, as the spring arms 18, 20, cannot pass theplane of the rear of the pegboard, the weight of the tools 26 will besafely carried by the bracket 12. It will be noted that the weight ofthe suspended items 26 increases the pressure of the spring arms 18, 20,against the rear 28 of the pegboard 10, and more tightly urges thefingers 22, 24, within the respective holes 14. In this manner, as moreweight is suspended, the more rigidly the hanger bracket 12 locks uponthe aperture board. Excess weight may be compensated -by bending at theconnections of the loop portion 30 and the spring arms 18, 20, therebyto pivot the loop portion 30 to approach a true horizontal plane.

It should be noted however, that increased weight will have no tendencyto loosen the hanger bracket. Rather, should excessive weight beapplied, the bracket 12 will fracture at the connection of the springarms 18, 20, to the loop portion 30, before loosening from the apertureboard 10.

Whatl claim is: 1. In a aperture board hanger bracket suitable forsecuring within the holes of a aperture board, said aperture board beingprovided with a plurality of spaced horizontal and vertical rows ofholes and wherein the holes are vertically and horizontally spaced fromeach other the combination of A. loop portion means formed inthebracket, and

terminating laterally in transverse ends,

1. said loop portion means including a plurality of first loops and aplurality of second loops,

2. said first loops alternating with said second loops,

3. said first and second loops being disposed in a plane, said planeinclining angularly upwardly from the horizontal,

4. a part of each said second loop contacting the aperture board,

5. the said first loops and the said second loops being formed withopenings into each of the said loops,

a. the openings to the said first loops open in a direction facingtowards the said aperture board and the openings to the said secondloops open in a direction facing away from the aperture board; and

B. spring arms integrally connecting to the said loop portion means atthe transverse ends thereof,

1. said spring arms being bent upwardly at substantially right angles tothe plane drawn through the loop portion means and forming bendstherewith,

2. said spring arms inserting through a pair of horizontally alignedopenings in the aperture board and being positioned rearwardly of theaperture board,

3. said spring arms terminating upwardly in bent fingers, said fingersbeing spaced from the said bends a distance equal to the distancebetween vertically spaced openings in the aperture board,

4. said fingers inserting forwardly through a aperture board hole in thedirection of the loop portion, whereby the imposition of weight upon theloop portion acts to pivot the loop portion about its connection to thesaid spring arms and to force the spring arms into tighter contact-withthe rear of the aperture board.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the fingers touch the lower portionof the said upper hole and the bends touch the upper portion of thelower hole to lock the hanger bracket onto the aperture board.

' l l l

1. In a aperture board hanger bracket suitable for securing within theholes of a aperture board, said aperture board being provided with aplurality of spaced horizontal and vertical rows of holes and whereinthe holes are vertically and horizontally spaced from each other thecombination of A. loop portion means formed in the bracket, andterminating laterally in transverse ends,
 1. said loop portion meansincluding a plurality of first loops and a plurality of second loops, 2.said first loops alternating with said second loops,
 3. said first andsecond loops being disposed in a plane, said plane inclining angularlyupwardly from the horizontal,
 4. a part of each said second loopcontacting the aperture board,
 5. the said first loops and the saidsecond loops being formed with openings into each of the said loops, a.the openings to the said first loops open in a direction facing towardsthe said aperture board and the openings to the said second loops openin a direction facing away from the aperture board; and B. spring armsintegrally connecting to the said loop portion means at the transverseends thereof,
 1. said spring arms being bent upwardly at substantiallyright angles to the plane drawn through the loop portion means andforming bends therewith,
 2. said spring arms inserting through a pair ofhorizontally aligned openings in the aperture board and being positionedrearwardly of the aperture board,
 3. said spring arms terminatingupwardly in bent fingers, said fingers being spaced from the said bendsa distance equal to the distance between vertically spaced openings inthe aperture board,
 4. said fingers inserting forwardly through aaperture board hole in the direction of the loop portion, whereby theimposition of weight upon the loop portion acts to pivot the loopportion about its connection to the said spring arms and to force thespring arms into tighter contact with the rear of the aperture board. 2.said first loops alternating with said second loops,
 2. said spring armsinserting through a pair of horizontally aligned openings in theaperture board and being positioned rearwardly of the aperture board, 2.The invention of claim 1 wherein the fingers touch the lower portion ofthe said upper hole and the bends touch the upper portion of the lowerhole to lock the hanger bracket onto the aperture board.
 3. said springarms terminating upwardly in bent fingers, said fingers being spacedfrom the said bends a distance equal to the distance between verticallyspaced openings in the aperture board,
 3. said first and second loopsbeing disposed in a plane, said plane inclining angularly upwardly fromthe horizontal,
 4. a part of each said second loop contacting theaperture board,
 4. said fingers inserting forwardly through a apertureboard hole in the direction of the loop portion, whereby the impositionof weight upon the loop portion acts to pivot the loop portion about itsconnection to the said spring arms and to force the spring arms intotighter contact with the rear of the aperture board.
 5. the said firstloops and the said second loops being formed with openings into each ofthe said loops, a. the openings to the said first loops open in adirection facing towards the said aperture board and the openings to thesaid second loops open in a direction facing away from the apertureboard; and B. spring arms integrally connecting to the said loop portionmeans at the transverse ends thereof,